Methods currently available for ankle distraction procedures generally restrain the patient's leg and apply controlled pressure to the ankle for the required traction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,220 entitled “Non-Invasive Distraction System for Ankle Arthroscopy” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,802 entitled “Surgical Holding Apparatus for Distracting Ankle” both describe applying such traction to the ankle directly.
The use of such equipment in the vicinity of the ankle could impair circumferential access to the patient's foot and ankle, during surgery, under some circumstances.
It has been shown that by restraining the patient's ankle with a simple strap and applying pressure to the underside of the patient's knee, the ankle can be distracted while allowing the surgeon complete access to the ankle in all directions.
One purpose of the instant invention is to provide a simple means of securing the patient's ankle while applying pressure to the underside of the patient's knee for such ankle arthroscopy by means of a manual distractor which can also be used for other joint arthroscopic surgery.